It's all about sharing baking experiences ..

Speaking of brownies, in case the last post was too chocolatey for you (:o), here is a milder version …. Blonde brownies …. Tastes equally delicious, and takes far less time to put together than washing the dishes!

Blonde Brownies

The original recipe belongs to Inspired Taste (am in love with that website). However, I have re-written the recipe (in my own words) based on the exact ingredients I used.

It’s very hard to discover the perfect brownie recipe that meets all needs … Not anymore! Came across a very simple yet interesting recipe for chewy brownies on the Inspired Taste website the other day and could not wait to give it a try …

The only choice you need to make is how sweet you’d like them to be. If you’re a fan of dark chocolate then simply go for the unsweetened cocoa powder (as the original recipe involves) … But if you’re more of a milk chocolate fan (like myself) then use the cadbury cocoa powder to get rid of the slightly bitter taste cocoa powder involves. The rest of the ingredients are pretty basic …

Chewy brownies from scratch

The original recipe belongs to Inspired Taste but I have tweaked it slightly and re-written in my own way …

Came across this fantastic recipe by Tasty on youtube a few days ago and could not wait to try it out. Though it does not taste the same as apple pie, but is a real treat for apple dessert lovers nonetheless …

The only tricky part is figuring out how many bread slices to use. Though the original recipe stated 6 slices, I felt I should have used around 8 as I did notice there was a bit more liquid left which should have been soaked up by the bread. Unfortunately I made that realisation after transferring the bread batter to the cake tin, so it was too late to make any changes. That’s why my version of this scrumptious dessert ended up more shiny and caramelised than intended. But am not complaining though as it helped keep it all moist. Read the rest of this entry →

Finally succeeded in snapping out of lazy mode today, and got some baking done after what has been quite a while! Also, each time I ran into my neighbour, she kept enquiring about when I’d get back to baking again .. haha! Hint taken and well over-due! So today I have for you (or rather the neighbour) Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies. These aren’t your average chocolate chip cookies, as I tweaked the recipe by adding almond essence as well as mixed nuts to the dough. And man, does it add a lot more flavour to the cookies … They are perfectly chewy and the aroma is to die for, as who doesn’t like the smell of roasted nuts! The plan was to drizzle some chocolate on top and add peanuts, but decided against it as felt that would make it too chocolatey. Luckily for me, the bag was not big enough to fit all the cookies in there *nom nom* ….. promise, no other reason other than that! 😀

Method:
Pre-heat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Line your baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together the unsalted butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until creamy. Add the egg followed by almond essence. Whisk again.
In another bowl, sift and add the all purpose flour, baking soda, chocolate chips and assorted nuts. Mix with the help of a spoon.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and give the mixture one final whisk until all the ingredients are well-combined.
Scoop out equal sized cookies on your baking tray with the help of a cookie scoop or teaspoon. Remember to leave some space between the cookies as they will spread while baking.
Bake the cookies in your pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius, for approximately 10 minutes or until the edges are a slight golden brown. Remember not to over-bake as the cookies harden further during the cooling process.
Transfer the cookies to your cooling rack immediately and allow the cookies to cool completely before serving.

It’s no secret I love birthdays as it means a chance to bake and be creative! Here’s what I did for a friends birthday whose two most favourite things in the world are reading books and drinking chai! Put the two together and what do you get? Ta-daa … a book box full of goodies to enjoy with a cup of chai! Goodies include mini chocolate cupcakes and savoury biscuits 🙂 … Can’t wait to see her reaction to this … Happy Birthday Ridhima!

Todays weekend plans included watching a good game of cricket while enjoying my favourite Almond Blueberry Cake. Turns out rain may cancel the game today, but thank God for this cake which never disappoints ….

Almond Blueberry Cake

The original recipe belongs to ‘Entertaining with Beth’ but I have re-written the recipe in my own way.

Method:
Pre-heat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 10″ cake tin and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients together i.e. butter, oil, sugar, eggs, and water.
In a separate bowl, sift and mix all the dry ingredients together i.e. flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture a little at a time. Fold the mixture with the help of a spatula until well-combined.
Add the blueberries to the flour mixture and carefully fold the mixture.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl and give the mixture one final mix.
Pour the mixture in your greased cake tin. Add the flaked almonds on top of the cake mixture.
Gently tap cake tin on your counter to make sure the cake is levelled properly.
Bake in your pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Don’t feel like cooking today? That sounds like me most of the time 😀 .. Actually it’s not the cooking I have a problem with .. it’s more the thought of ‘what’ to cook that is the real dilemma. This simple to make Chicken Steak recipe came to my rescue yesterday and seemed like the perfect treat to end the weekend. The ingredients required are very basic, and the whole dish can be prepared in a matter of 10 minutes! I’ve added the quantities according to my own taste, but feel free to add or deduct according to your own taste buds ….. There, that’s your cooking sorted for today then! 🙂 Time for me to figure out what to cook today now 😐 …

Method for the Chicken Steak :
Line up 2 bowls containing the following:
Bowl 1: Flour,salt,black pepper and paprika mixture
Bowl 2: Milk and Egg
Now take the flattened chicken fillets and season on both sides with salt and black pepper.
Then dip the chicken steak (one at a time) in ‘Bowl 1’ first, then in ‘Bowl 2’, and then back again in ‘Bowl 1’. Set aside.
Heat oil in your frying pan, and add the butter. Cook the Chicken Steak on both sides until it forms a nice golden brown colour.

Method for the gravy:
Heat a little oil, and add the flour. Keep mixing allowing it to cook until it forms a light golden brown paste. Add the milk followed by the salt, black pepper and paprika. Continue to cook until it reaches the desired consistency. ps: if it gets too thick, then add more milk to make it thinner. Pour over the chicken steak at the time of serving!